Fig. 1: Bio-inspired active transmission.
a, Prevailing solution to on-chip signal transmission, in which the signal path is broken by repeaters or amplifiers (A), which re-amplify the decaying signal. b, The bio-inspired transmission primitive in which signal amplification occurs continuously throughout an unbroken signal path. c, Neurons operate in a region of non-monotonic responses between the ion flux and Na+ ion activation (Na+ act.) channels. Such a behaviour, similar to an NDR, is theoretically predicted to embody semi-stable EOC, which enables local amplification. d, Electronic version of a bio-inspired active-medium transmission, based on an active medium that exhibits NDR and EOC.
